


Awakening

by izadreamer



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Genre: Gen, also there might be some spoilers for the most recent episode but in all honesty not much, mentions of others but they're not very important
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-11
Updated: 2015-04-11
Packaged: 2018-03-22 07:27:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3720250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/izadreamer/pseuds/izadreamer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Serena has lived her whole life in a fantasy. It’s time to wake up. </p><p>Written for the Arc V 30 day challenge, Day 9: Fantasy</p>
            </blockquote>





	Awakening

**Author's Note:**

> This is mostly just speculation about Serena's thoughts and feelings throughout the past few episodes, really. Hopefully it makes some sense... ah well. Enjoy~

This is what Serena knows.

Fusion is good, the greatest, the best out of the summon types, and the most magnificent of the four dimensions. She is blessed to be born in this world, more so to be part of Academia. Standard is not the enemy. Synchro is soon to be theirs; Heartland already is. XYZ is scum—worthy warriors, to be sure, but their sacrifices are needed in order to obtain the ultimate goal.

(No one’s going to miss them anyway.)

This is what Serena wants: to prove herself. 

There is something hollow in the victory at Heartland, something empty and careless. She wasn’t there to fight the war, and she didn’t help fight against their duelists. It’s a victory for Academia, not so much for her. Serena wasn’t _there_. 

The Professor didn’t let her fight. He still doesn’t. Even after all her accomplishments, all of her struggles, he still refuses to admit her competence. Even when some of their soldiers return wounded and cursing, he still refuses to let her help. 

It’s as though she has no worth in his eyes. 

It’s this thought that drives her to run to Standard, to fight the XYZ remnants on her own. Perhaps the Professor is simply in denial about her abilities. Maybe he just needs proof. Maybe all she needs to do is prove that she’s strong enough to fight like the rest of them.

If she does that, then he will certainly let fight alongside Obelisk Force. He has too. 

So Serena flees Academia one last time, Barret by her side. She goes to Standard to fight against the Resistance, to prove her loyalty. She’d expected a battle.

Not a war. 

Not the truth. 

And oh, what a painful truth it is. Too painful, too hard to swallow. She hopes with all her heart it’s a lie. 

Her counterpart tells her of a game, of needless slaughter and pain. And it’s impossible, isn’t it? The XYZ dimension had to have known. They had to have died nobly. If not, then—

She doesn’t know. That frightens her, in a way she has never been frightened before. If it does turn out to be true—then what? 

(But then, how would her counterpart know? Standard is not the enemy. So maybe it is a lie, maybe Serena doesn’t have to find out what she will and will not do.)

Hours later, she will see the truth; will face the reality of Yuzu’s words. The haunted look in Shun Kurosaki’s eyes as he whispers about the slaughter, the tears that stain Yuya’s cheeks as he weeps for his lost friends, and the echoing laughter of the soldiers sent to retrieve her as they sealed those poor, foolish duelists into cards sears into her. She watches this false Heartland, this beautiful shining city, so bright and cheerful in a way she had never imagined, burn to the ground before her.

She wonders if this is what happened to the real one. If her fellow soldiers had laughed as it fell.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. She was supposed to prove herself, not have her world crash and fall around her. She wasn’t supposed to realize just how wrong she’d been all those years.

Fusion is the greatest, the best out of all the Summons. Synchro is worthless, and XYZ is scum. Sacrifices must be made in order to achieve their goal.

… _Leo’s_ goal.

(Not hers. Not anymore, at least.)

Serena opens her eyes and watches the false Heartland burn, watches as the buildings crumple and crash to the earth, as the smoke rises and darkens the skies. 

Her fantasy burns with it.


End file.
